Seven Castles

Generation X

                                      

September 15, 2006

 

"Generation X" is a term for the generation of people born in the Western world, especially people born in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, the United States and the United Kingdom, following the post-World War II baby boom generation. The term came from a book of the same name written in 1991 by a Canadian writer Douglas Coupland. In his usage, the "X" referred to the namelessness of a generation that was coming into an awareness of its existence as a separate group while at the same time feeling completely dwarfed and culturally overshadowed by the Baby Boomer generation of which it was ostensibly a part. The book is a fictional one about three strangers who decide to distance themselves from society to get a better sense of who they are, with the characters described as "underemployed, overeducated, intensely private and unpredictable". The book features various themes now familiar to pundits, including the stress of parental divorce, diminished job opportunities, and the like.

 

The book rose from a modest first printing to sales in the hundreds of thousands largely by word of mouth, and media coverage of the Generation X and Generation X phenomenon made it one of the most discussed books and word of the early 1990s; it also generated a large number of spin-off terms, including Gen X; X'er; Generation Y (and Z).

 

The members of Generation X, born between 1965 and 1976, are usually college educated and dissatisfied with their careers, growing up in a very different world than previous generations. Divorce and working moms created "latchkey" kids out of many in this generation. This led to traits of independence, resilience and adaptability. Generation X feels strongly that "I don't need someone looking over my shoulder". They were brought up on television and personal computers. Generation X has survived a hurried childhood of divorce, latchkeys, space shuttle explosions, open classrooms, widespread public knowledge of political corruption, inflation and recession, post-Vietnam national malaise, environmental disaster, the Islamic Revolution in Iran, devil-child movies, and a shift from "G" to "R" ratings. They are the generation that was raised in the 1970s and 1980s, and saw this country undergo a selfish phase that they do not want to repeat. Their other traits include working well in multicultural settings, desire for some fun in the workplace and a pragmatic approach to getting things done.

 

There are actually two different stereotypes associated with the Generation X-ers. One is the slacker image in which the individual has no motivation and is a whiner. On the other extreme is the highly educated computer hacker who has his own business.

 

They have a pessimistic attitude about society. They do not see life getting any better. They do not even like the label "Generation X".

 

【作者: zhangliping】【访问统计:】【2006年09月15日 星期五 06:19】【 加入博采】【打印】